


The Final Battle

by Hilaryh90



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:40:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22408831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hilaryh90/pseuds/Hilaryh90
Summary: This is the third and last (for now) installment of Bucky and Carrie's lives. If you haven't checked out the other two stories called My Double Life and Trying for a Normal Life I suggest you check those out before entering here.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**The Final Battle**  
**A/N: So Carrie is going to face a lot of heart break in this and I'm going to be putting her into Endgame for the whole thing.**

I sat at the table at the Avengers compound just staring into my coffee, it was probably getting cold but I didn't care, I felt numb, Seeing Bucky get turned to dust kept playing over and over in my head. Suddenly the coffee in my cup starts shaking as does the compound and I look up in confusion then followed everyone out. I see a glowing woman lands a spacecraft and the landing gears deploy as it touches down. The entry hatch opens, and Stark walks out with a blue woman and Steve runs over to him and helps Stark walk down the rest of the way.

"Who's the blue chick?" I asked Natasha.

"Her name is Nebula, she was one of Thanos's children." She tells me and I looked over as Pepper ran over to Stark hugging him.

* * *

Stark sits at a table, getting blood for healing. A holographic casualty report lists the names and faces of those we lost. Bucky's face pops up and I look down feeling a hand on my shoulder and I look at Natasha.

"It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth." Rhodes tells all of us.

"World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did... he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent, of all living creatures." Natasha adds

"Where is he now? Where?" Stark asked

"We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through." Steve told him

"What's wrong with him?" Stark asked indicating to Thor.

"Oh, he's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but you know there's a lot of that's going around, ain't there?" Rocket pointed out

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear." Stark says to him

"Maybe I am."

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him." Steve pointed out

"Who told you that? I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the stone. That's what happened. There was no fight."

"Okay." Steve says

"He's unbeatable."

"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?" I asked him

"Pfft! I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming." 

"Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus." Steve tells him

"And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?" Stark asked and stands, pushing things off the table with a clatter, "I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all youse-" Stark goes for Steve but Rhodey quickly comes in front of him, trying to stop him.

"Tony, Tony, Tony!"

"Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed!" Stark says to Steve.

"Well, that didn't work out, did it?"

"I said, "we'd lose". You said, "We'll do that together too." And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers. Right?"

"You made your point. Just sit down." Rhodey tells him

"Okay..." Stark says

"Okay?"

"Nah, nah. Here's my point. You know what?" Stark asked

"Tony, you're sick."

"She's great, by the way." Stark tells us indicating to Carol

"Sit down. Sit." 

"We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules!" Stark walks right up to Steve's face, "I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar." Steve looks affected by Tony's words. After a moment, Stark rips his Arc Reactor from his chest and shoves it into Steve's hand, "Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You hide." Stark falls to the ground. Steve is by his side.

"Tony!"

"I'm fine. I..." Stark says and passed out.

* * *

"Bruce gave him a sedative. He's gonna probably be out for the rest of the day." Rhodey informed us.

"You guys take care of him. And I'll bring him a Xorrian Elixir when I come back." Carol says and walks away.

"Where are you going?" I asked her

"To kill Thanos."

Me, Steve and Natasha share a look before walking after her, "Hey, you know, we usually work as a team here, and between you and I, morale's a little fragile."

"We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight too." Steve adds

"You even know where he is?" Rhodey asked

"I know people who might."

"Don't bother. I can tell you where Thanos is." Nebula says and we look at her, "Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. And when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask "where would we go once his plan was complete?". His answer was always the same: To the Garden."

"That's cute, Thanos has a retirement plan after killing everyone we care about." I pointed out bitterly

"So where is he?" Steve asked 

"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it...Until two days ago." Rocket says and a hologram of a planet pops up, with a shock-wave visibly traversing the surface, "On this planet."

"Thanos is there." Nebula pointed out

"He used the stones again." Natasha adds

"Hey, hey, hey. We'd be going in short-handed, you know." Banner says

"Look, he's still got the stones, so..." Rhodey began to say

"So let's get him... Use them to bring everyone back." I mentioned

"Just like that?" Rhodey asked

"Yeah, just like that." Steve says and we shared a look

"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this... I mean we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try." Natasha said

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?" Banner asked

"Because before, you didn't have me." Carol tells us. Self-centered much?

"Hey, new girl, everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?" Rhodey asked her

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."

Thor stands up and walks over to Carol then she looked at him. He holds his hand up, and catches his big axe as it flies over to him, missing Carol by inches, "I like this one." He tells us.

"Let's go get this son of a bitch." Steve says

* * *

"Okay, who here hasn't been to space?" Rocket asked us as he flew the spaceship and me, Natasha, Steve, and Rhodey raise our hands.

"Why?" Rhodey asked him

"You better not throw up on my ship."

"Approaching jump in 3... 2... 1!" Nebula says and the ship jumps forward into a wormhole, I grip the handles of my seat feeling like I got disconnected from my body. The ship slows down and hovers in orbit of the planet.

"Can we not do that again?" I asked feeling my stomach twist a little then Carol hovers in front of the ship

"I'll head down for recon." She tells us and flew away

"This is gonna work, Steve." Natasha tells him

"I know it will. Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't." 

"None of us will." I added and felt a hand on mine, I looked up and saw Steve give me a sad smile. Not only did I lose Bucky, but he did too, for the second time.

"No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him." Carol informed us flying back to the ship

"And that's enough." Nebula says

* * *

Carol flies through the roof of the house Thanos was in then Banner in his suit went through one wall and I crashed in through the other one grabbing his arm with the stone glove. Thor flies in and slices off that same hand. Rhodey flies down with Rocket and aims guns on Thanos' head.  
Steve walks in with Natasha right behind him, Rocket goes over to the sliced off hand and kicks it over, I see that there are no stones in it, "Oh no." Rocket sighed

"Where are they?" Steve asked Thanos who stayed quiet.

"Answer the question!" Carol told him

"The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation."

"You murdered trillions!" Banner yelled and pushes him to the ground

"You should be grateful." Thanos say and Banner punched him then I put my foot on his chest then aimed my spear that I still had at his neck.

"Where are the Stones?" I asked him

"Gone. Reduced to atoms." He said and I pushed the spear closer to his neck, my blood boiling.

"Carrie." I heard Steve say but I ignored him, I was pissed off, he killed the man I love and wanted him dead, "Carrie." He repeated and I took my foot off of Thanos then hit him with the other end of the spear before stepping back and standing by Natasha.

"You used them two days ago!" Banner pointed out

"I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me." Thanos tells us indicating to his face, "But the work is done. It always will be," He sits himself a little straighter, "I am... inevitable."

"We have to tear this place apart, he-he-he has to be lying." Rhodey says

"My father is many things. A liar is not one of them." Nebula tells us

"Ah, thank you, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly." He said and before any of us could realize he Thanos' head off with the axe. 

"What... What did you do?" Rocket asked him

"I went for the head." Thor says and turned walking out of the house.

* * *

**Five years later...**

"How's Carrie doing?" I heard Steve ask Nat as I snuck my way back into the house I stayed in with her. I couldn't stay in Wakanda anymore, to many memories. Plus it gave me time to get to know Nat more as she, very unsuccessfully, tired to help me with my pain and grief.

"She's trying, but I can tell she's still hurting. I'm doing what I can to help her but...I can't do anything to make her feel better. She either sits in her room, bunches bag in the weight room, or disappears for hours." 

"I don't blame her. Not only did she lose Bucky but she lost the only person she really had in this world." Steve says, not gonna lie, he wasn't wrong. My heart twisted in pain when he said Bucky's name though and I held the necklace he gave me, "Is she here?" Steve asked and I quickly and quietly went to my room. Shortly after I heard a knock, I almost didn't answer but I heard Steve's voice, "Carrie, I know you're in there." He says and I sighed.

"Come in." I told him and the door opened as I took my jacket off setting it down on the chair in my room

"How's it going?"

"Fine." I answered, I wasn't trying to be rude, I just...I didn't want to listen to his inspiration speeches right now or tell me it's gonna be okay.

"Listen, Carrie..."

"Steve. Can you not? Okay? I don't wanna be rude but I don't need to hear it. I don't wanna hear how everything is going to be okay, because it hasn't been for five goddamn years." I said keeping my back to him.

"Carrie..." 

"It should have been me. It should have been me that got snapped away, not him." I tell him as tears stung my eyes.

"Don't say that."

"Why not?" I asked facing him, "Why shouldn't it have been me? I finally got him back to the Bucky you knew, your friend, then he gets wiped away? How fair is that?!"

"It's not." 

"No it's not, and it hurts me every day that I can't trade places with him. I lay in bed every night barely sleeping because when I close my eyes I see...I see him turn to dust again, right in front of me, and I can't do anything to stop it." I said and I fail to hold back the tears, "I go out all the time trying, trying to find something, anything, that'll get my mind off of him but I...I can't. I loved him, more then I have ever loved anyone else, and he's gone." I said losing it putting my hands to my face, I feel Steve wrap his arms around me in a hug, I normally would have pushed him away but I didn't care at the moment.

"I'm so sorry Carrie." He says and I just cried into him

"Hey guys. Oh sorry." We hear Nat say and I pulled away from Steve wiping my eyes, "You might wanna see this." She tells us and we follow her out into the main room and she pointed at the screen, Lang was standing there.

"Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

"Is this an old message?" Steve asked her

"It's the front gate."

"Ant-Man? Ant-Man, I know you know that. I need to talk to you guys." Lang says 

* * *

We stand there and watch as Lang paces worriedly in front of us, "Scott. Are you okay?" Steve asked him

"Yeah. I'm fine." He says but I could tell there was something else just by his body language, "Have you ever studied Quantum Physics?"

"Only to make conversation." Nat tells him

"Alright. So... five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my... She was my... " He struggled to say, "She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there."

"I'm sorry. That must've been a very long five years." I said

"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours." He mentioned and I looked at Steve and Nat confused

"Come again?" I asked him

"See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving," He strides over to pick up Nat's sandwich, and bites into it.

"Scott, what are you talking about?" Steve asked him

"What I'm saying is, time works differently in the Quantum Realm. The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if, we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos."

"Wait, are you talking about a time machine?" I asked 

"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a... Yeah, a time machine. I know it's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way... There's gotta be...some w... it's crazy."

"Scott, I get e-mails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore." Nat pointed out

"So who do we talk to about this?" Scott asked

* * *

We get out of Steve's car at Stark's house and I see him give us a look.

* * *

"Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve asked him

"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck Scale, which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?" Stark says and hands Steve a drink

"Thank you."

"In Layman's terms, it means you're not coming home." Stark pointed out and handed me a cup

"I did." Lang told him

"No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a... What do you call it?"

"A time heist?" Lang says and I hang my head shaking it a little

"Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipe-dream?"

"The Stones are in the past. We can go back and get them." Lang pointed out

"We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back." I added

"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?"

"I don't believe we would." Steve mentioned

"Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise."

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events -" Lang started to tell him

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back To The Future?"

"No." Lang says

"Good. You had me worried there. 'Cause that'd be horse shit. That's not how quantum physics works."

"Tony... We have to take a stand." Nat told him

"We did stand. And yet, here we are."

"I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did." Lang mentioned and I looked down feeling my heart ache, "And now, now we have a chance to bring her back. To bring everyone back. And you're telling me that won't even..."

"That's right, Scott, I won't even. I got a kid." Tony says then his daughter walked out and he picked her up

"Mommy told me to come and save you."

"Good job. I'm saved." He says and stood up then faced us, "I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly, I... I missed you guys, it was... Oh, and table's set for six."

"Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance." Steve told him

"I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch."

* * *

"He's scared." Nat mentioned as we walk back to the car

"He's not wrong." Steve agreed

"Yeah, but I mean, what are we gonna do? We need him. What, are we gonna stop?" I asked, if there was any hope at all of bringing Bucky back, I had to try.

"No, I wanna do it right. We're gonna need a really big brain."

"Bigger than his?" Lang asked

* * *

"Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating." Banner told us pushing a plate forward, but it wasn't Banner anymore, it was like him and the hulk merged together, "Try some of that. Have some eggs."

"I'm so confused." Lang says from next to me in the booth

"These are confusing times." Banner told him

"Right. No, no, that's not what I meant."

"No, I get it. I'm kidding! I know. It's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now." Banner says 

"Yeah! Wh...How? Why?" Lang asked him 

"Five years ago, we got our asses beaten. Except it was worse for me. Because I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost."

"No one blamed you, Bruce." Nat reassured him

"I did. For years, I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds..." He tells us and three kids walk up to him

"Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?" The girl asked

"Yes?"

"Can we get a photo?" She asked him

"100%, little person. Come on, step up." He told her and handed Lang the phone, "You mind?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Thanks," He says and Lang scooted up a little and I tried my best to move out of the way, "Say "green"! They said as Lang took the photo, "Did you get that?"

"Don't you wanna grab one with me? I'm Ant-Man." Lang mentioned but the kids stayed quiet looking confused, "They're Hulk fans, they don't know Ant-Man. Nobody does."

"Wait, no, no, he feels bad. No, he wants you to...he wants to..." Banner says and looked at one of the kids, "You want to take a picture with him, right?" Banner asked and I looked down trying to contain a smile as they argued.

"Just take the goddamn phone." Lang said to the kid handing the phone back and I gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Mr. Hulk." The girl told him and they walked away

"No, it's great kids. Thank you very much. Hulk out!"

"Bruce." Steve says

"Dab!"

"Bruce." Steve repeated

"Listen to your Mom. She knows better."

"About we were saying..." Steve started to say

"Right. The whole time travel do-over? Guys, it's outside my area of expertise."

"Well, you pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible time, too." Nat pointed out

"We have to at least try." I added and he looked at me, "Please?"

* * *

Bruce is fiddling with buttons on a panel while me, Nat and Steve stand there with Lang in his suit, "Okay, here we go. Time travel test number one. Scott, fire up the uhhh... the van thing." Banner told him and Lang opens the portal

"Cool." I said 

"Breakers are set, emergency generators are on standby." Steve informed us

"Good. 'Cause if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose Tiny here in the 1950's." Banner says and we all look at him

"Excuse me?" Lang asked

"He's kidding." Nat told him and I chuckled, "You can't say things like that!"

"Just... It was a bad joke." Banner said and I looked at him

"You were kidding, right?" I asked him

"I have no idea. We're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is." He whispered to me then looked at Lang, "We're good! Get your helmet on, Scott. I'm gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in 10 seconds. Makes sense?"

"Perfectly not confusing" 

"Good luck, Scott. You got this." Steve tells him

"You're right. I do, Captain America."  
Banner presses a button, and Scott disappears into the Quantum Tunnel, "On the count of three. 3... 2... 1!" Banner presses a button, and someone in the Ant-Man suit comes back. A teenager in appears out of it

"Uh, guys? This...this doesn't feel right." Teen Lang says

"What is this?" Steve asked

"What's going on?" Banner asked

"That...who is that?" I asked and Banner pushes another couple of buttons

"Hold on." 

"Is that Scott?" Nat asked

"Yes, it's Scott!" Teen Lang said and got sucked in back into the quantum tunnel then an old man appears.

"Ow! My back!"

"What is this?" Steve asked

"Can I get a little space here?" Banner asked us

"Yeah yeah. Can you bring him back?" Steve asked him

"I'm working on it!" Banner says tapping the side of the button pad. After a moment, another person appears in front of us. It...it's a baby

"It's a baby." Steve pointed out

"It's Scott." Banner told him

"As a baby!"

"He'll grow." Banner said

"Bring Scott back!"

"When I say kill the power, kill the power." Banner told Nat

"Oh my god." She groaned and walked over to the switch

"And... Kill it!" Banner said and Nat pulls down a lever, and everything shuts down. The normal Lang gets sent back out again.

"Somebody peed my pants."

"Oh thank god." I sighed

"But I don't know if it was "baby" me or "old" me...Or just "me" me."

"Time travel!" Banner says holding his hands up, me and Steve don't respond and shake our heads then Steve walked away, "What? I..I see this as an absolute win!"

* * *

"Carrie," I heard Steve say as I stood looking out the window holding my necklace between my fingers

"Hmm." I mumbled not facing him

"When we get this all set to go. I'm gonna have you come with me, Tony and Scott." He told me and I faced him

"Why? We don't even know where we're going yet." 

"Well I'll be honest, I'd feel better if you were there watching our backs." He said and I gave him a small smile

"Aw shucks." I say sarcastically 

"I know you're sick of being asked this, but are you doing okay?"

"I'm getting there. Just knowing that we have a chance to save him, save all of them it...I'm just trying to hold on to the little hope that I have left." I tell him

"You know I never really thanked you."

"For what?" I asked him

"You saved Bucky, for years you watched his back without him knowing then you and Shuri undid what HYDRA did to him then helped him remember who he is. You brought back the Bucky I knew, and I will always be grateful to you for that."

I smiled trying to hide back the tears, "Here you go making me emotional again." I joked and he pulled me into a hug

"We'll get him back. I promise.


	2. The Final Battle chapter 2

**The Final Battle**

  
"Time travel suit? Not bad." Rhodey says walking into the room me, Banner, Lang and Nebula were in.

"Hey, hey, hey! Easy, easy!" Lang told Banner who was holding a glass vial

"I'm being very careful."

"No, you're being very Hulky." Lang said

"Boys knock it off or I'll separate you." I tell them earning a chuckle from Rhodey

"I'm being careful."

"These are Pym Particles, alright? And ever since Hank Pym got snapped out of existence, this is it. This is what we have. We're not making any more." Lang pointed out

"Guys, calm down." I said again

"Sorry. We've got enough for one round trip each. That's it. No do-overs. Plus two test runs." Lang tells us and accidentally presses a button, and shrinks, and then grows back to his normal size, "One test run."

"Smooth." I told him

"All right. I'm not ready for this." Lang mentioned

"I'm game. I'll do it." I heard someone say and I see Clint standing there

"Clint." 

"Hey Carrie." He says and I walked over to him

"You changed." I pointed out and looked into his eyes, he had the same sadness and rage that I had, "Come here." I told him and we hugged, "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

* * *

"Clint, now you're gonna feel a little discombobulated from the chronoshift. Don't worry about it." Banner tells him as Nebula gets the suit he's wearing ready.

"Wai-Wait a second, let me ask you something. If we can do this, you know, go back in time, why don't we just find baby Thanos, you know, and.." Rhodey says and makes a hand gesture suggesting that they strangle baby Thanos with a rope.

"First of all, that's horrible..." Banner said to him

"It's Thanos."

"...And secondly, time doesn't work that way. Changing the past doesn't change the future." Banner adds

"Look, we go back, we get the stones before Thanos gets them... Thanos doesn't have the stones. Problem solved." Lang mentioned

"Bingo." Clint says

"That's not how it works." Nebula tells us

"Well, that's what I heard."

"What? By who? Who told you that?" Banner asked

"Star Trek, Terminator, TimeCop, Time After Time -" Rhodey listed off

"Quantum Leap -" Lang adds

"A Wrinkle in Time, Somewhere in Time -" 

"Hot Tub Time Machine -" Lang says

"Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." I said 

"Basically, any movie that deals with time travel." Rhodey finished

"Die Hard? No, it's not one..." Lang says

"This is known." Rhodey pointed out

"I don't know why everyone believes that, but that isn't true. Think about it: If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future. And your former present becomes the past. Which can't now be changed by your new future..." 

"Exactly." Nebula adds

"My head hurts." I mentioned

"So... Back To The Future's a bunch of bullshit?" Lang asked and I patted his back

"There there."

* * *

"Alright, Clint. We're going in 3... 2... 1!" Banner tells him and the portal activated then Clint disappeared. After a few moments he came on the glass platform, breathing heavily and sitting on the platform.

"Hey, hey. Look at me. You okay?" Nat asked him and he held up a baseball glove tossing it at Stark 

"Yeah, it worked. It worked." He says and Steve put his hand on my shoulder as I sighed in relief. We are getting him back, getting everyone back

* * *

As we all gather in a room with some hologram displays that show us of the six Infinity Stones, Tony, Steve and Bruce are pacing at the front.

"Okay, so the "how" works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones." Steve pointed out well, not all of us

"Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones." Stark mentioned

"I haven't, I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about." Lang says

"Same." I added

"Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history." Banner said

"Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in." Starks says

"Which means we have to pick our targets." Clint mentioned

"Correct."

"Let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do you know?" Steve asked him and we turned to face Thor who wasn't moving 

"Is he asleep?" Nat asked

"No, I'm pretty sure he's dead." Rhodey says

* * *

"Where to start? Umm... The Aether, first, is not a stone, someone called it a stone before. It's more of a... an angry sludge thing, so... someones gonna need to amend that. Here's an interesting story though, many years ago... My grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves..." Thor wiggles his fingers to imitate a spooky ghost, "Wooooh, scary beings. So Jane," An image of a woman pops up on the screen, "Oh, there she is. That's Jane... She's... an old flame of mine... She... she stuck her hand inside a rock this one time... and then the Aether stuck itself inside her... And, she became very, very sick. So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from. And we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time, you see. I got to introduce her to my Mother... who's dead," Thor starts to look broken and my heart broke for him, "and oh you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, these things happen though you know, nothing last forever," Stark starts to push him back to his chair, "I'm not done yet, the only thing permanent in life is impermanence."

"Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast?" Stark asked him

"I'd like a Bloody Mary, thank you."

* * *

"Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag." Rocket tells us as we sit there eating

"Is that a person?" Lang asked him

"Morag's a planet. Quill was a person." 

"A planet? Like in outer space?" Lang asked

"Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything." Rocket says, "Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll get you to space." Rocket spoke to him like he was speaking to a dog and I stiffled a laugh

* * *

"Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir." Nebula informed us

"What is Vormir?" Nat asked her

"A dominion of death, at the very center of Celestial existence. It's where... Thanos murdered my sister." Nebula says and we all stay quiet

"Not it." Lang said and I put my head on the table

* * *

"That Time Stone guy..." Nat started to say as her and Stark laid on the table with Banner on the floor with my head resting on him. Not in a weird way, he was just there and honestly it was like a pillow.

"Doctor Strange." Banner says

"Yeah, what kind of doctor was he?" She asked

"Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit from a hat." Stark told her

"Nice place in the village, though." Banner pointed out

"Yeah. Sullivan Street." Stark said

"Hmm... Bleecker." Banner mentioned

"Wait, he lived in New York?" Nat asked

"No. He lived in Toronto." Stark said sarcastically

"Guys, if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York." She tells us and we all sit up

"Shut the front door." Banner says

* * *

We look at the holograms displaying the different locations of the stones, the Soul and Power Stones in space in 2014. the Reality Stone in Asgard, 2013; and the Space, Mind, and Time Stones in New York City, 2012, "All right. We have a plan. Six Stones, three teams. One shot." Steve tells us

* * *

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends... We lost family... We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes." Steve says and I look at him, "Good luck."

"He's pretty good at that." Rocket mentioned

"Right?" Lang adds

"All right. You heard the man. Stroke those keys, jolly green." Stark tells Banner

"Tractors engaged."

"You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?" Rocket asked Clint referring to the tiny ship in his hands.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll do my best." Clint told him

"As promises go, that was pretty lame."

"See you in a minute." Nat says and I give her a smile then the portal starts to activate and our helmets materialize on then we shrink and go through the quantum realm, it was a very uneasy feeling. Next thing I know me, Steve, Stark, Banner and Lang are in New York, I'm guessing in 2012 and I hear roaring and screaming going on.

"All right, we all have our assignments. Two Stones uptown, one Stone, down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock." Steve says and I see another Hulk pass by us, smashing everything in his way, "Feel free to smash a few things along the way." Steve told him

"I think it's gratuitous, but whatever." Our Banner pretends to smash things in a sarcastic way. He tears his shirt off, and walks over to a car. He lightly punches the car, making a small dent, all the while making growling noises. He picks up a motorbike and throws it at a wall, wincing as it hits the wall.

* * *

"Okay, you stay hidden and out of sight, Pierce, Rumlow and the rest of STRIKE are going to be here somewhere and if they see you..." Steve started to tell me.

"It would mess things up because at this point me and B..Bucky are still in stasis." I finished and he gave me a sad smile.

"Stay hidden until you get the all clear." He says and I nodded then as he walked away sure enough I did see Pierce and the others walking into the building, oh what I wouldn't give to shoot Pierce right now, but Steve's right, they can't see me. So I did what I do best, blended in and stayed out of sight.

"Got to hustle, Cap. Things look like they're just about wrapped up here." I heard Stark say over the radio.

"Got it. I'm approaching the elevator now."

"Uh, Mr. Rogers. I almost forgot that that suit did nothing for your ass." Stark told him

"No one asked you to look, Tony."

"It's ridiculous" Stark adds

"I think you look great, Cap. As far as I'm concerned, that's America's ass." Lang told him and I rolled my eyes

"Guys can we focus on the stones and not Steve's ass please." I said and ducked behind a wall seeing Pierce standing in the lobby,"Pierce." I whispered feeling my blood boil again

"Carrie, don't, you can't do anything to mess up the past." Steve says and I sighed

"Can I at least jus..."

"No." Steve said cutting me off

"But what if I just..."

"No." He says again

"You're no fun." I mumbled then moved away as Pierce walked closer.

"Who are these guys?" I heard Lang ask

"They are SHIELD...Well, actually Hydra. But, we didn't know that yet." Stark told him

"Seriously, you didn't? I mean...they look like bad guys." Lang pointed out

"Well not all the HYDRA agents were bad." I mentioned

"Okay, but we didn't know about you yet." Stark tells me

"Wait what? You worked for HYDRA?" Lang asked 

"You're small, but you're talking loud." Stark said changing the subject, "All right, Cap. I got our scepter in the elevator just passing the 80th floor." 

"On it. Head to the lobby and meet up with Carrie." Steve told him

"Alright. I'll see you there." 

* * *

"Good job. Sanders, Lang, meet me in the alley. I'm gonna grab a quick slice." I heard Stark say then suddenly the past Hulk smashed through the door knocking him down

"NO MORE STAIRS!!!!"

"That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" Lang asked him

"Oh, we blew it." 

* * *

"Cap–" Stark says as Steve jumped down into the alley where him and Lang were sitting in a broken car and I was on the ground in front of it, "Sorry, buddy. We got a– problem."

"Huh. Yeah, we do." Lang adds

* * *

"Well, what are we gonna do now?" Steve asked

"You know what? Give me a break, Steve. I just got hit in the head with the Hulk."Stark told him

"You said that we had one shot. This– this was our shot. We shot it. It's shot. Six stones or nothing. Six stones or nothing–" Lang says

"You're repeating yourself, you know that? You're repeating yourself." Stark said to him

"You're repeating yourself. You're repeating yourself. You know– No."

"Dude, come on." I say

"You never wanted a time heist, you went on board with the time heist–" Lang starts to say

"I dropped the ball."

"You ruined the time heist." Lang told him

"Is that what I did?" Tony asked

"Yeah!"

"Are there any other options with the Tesseract?" Steve asked

"No, no, no. There's no other options. There's no do-overs. We're not going anywhere else. We have one particle left. Each. That's it, alright? We use that– Bye, bye. You're not

going home." Lang pointed out

"Yeah, well if we don't try, then no one else is going home, either." I pointed out

"I got it. There's another way. To retake the Tesseract and acquire new particles. We'll stroll down memory lane. Military installation, Garden State." Stark says

"Wait...I think I know that place." I mentioned

"When were they both there?" Steve asked him

"They were there at a– I've a vaguely exact idea."

"How vague?" I asked 

"What are you talking about? Where are we going?" Lang asked

"I know for a fact they were there–" Stark says

"Who's they? What are we doing?" Lang asked

"And I know how I know." Stark said

"Guys, what's up? What is it?" Lang asked

"Well, it looks like we're improvising." I pointed out

"Right. What are we improvising?" Lang asked and Steve held the septor up to him

"Scott, get this back to the compound. Carrie go with him."

"Oh hell no. If you both are going so am I. Whatever it takes right?" I asked and Steve looked at me then nodded.

"Okay fine. Suit up." Stark tells us

"What's in New Jersey?" Lang asked

"0-4" Stark says and the three of us enter it into our time pads 

"0-4-"

"Uhh, 0-7." He adds

"0-7."

"1-9-7-0." Stark finished and we entered the numbers in

"Are you sure?" Steve asked him and he nodded

"Cap. Captain. Steve, sorry, America. Rogers. Look, if you do this, and this doesn't work, you're not coming back." Lang pointed out

"Thanks for the pep talk, pissant." Stark says to him then looked at me and Steve, "Do you both trust me?"

"I do." Steve says

"So do I." I added

"Your call." Stark says

"Here we go." Stark said and we materialize out suits then transport.


	3. The Final Battle chapter 3

**The Final Battle**

"Clearly, you weren't actually born here, right?" Stark asked Steve as we walked by a building 

"The idea of me was." 

"Right. Well, imagine you're SHIELD, running a quasi-fascistic intelligence organization. Where do you hide it?" Stark asked and I looked at a small little building that almost looked like a shed.

"In plain sight." I point out 

* * *

As we stood in the elevator going down I had seen a woman in there glance at us and Stark slowly moved to stand in front of Steve and me then it stopped and he got off,

"Good luck on your mission, Captains." He tells us

"Good luck on your project, doctor." Steve says and we share a look

"You both new here?" The lady asked us

"Not exactly." Steve told her

* * *

"Hello. Dr. Pym?" Steve asked over the phone as I stood watch next to the lab, "This is Captain Stevens from shipping. We have a package for you." He tells him and there was a pause, "Well, that's the thing, sir. We can't." Another pause, "Well, it's just– Sir, the box is glowing and, to be honest, some of our mail guys aren't feeling that great." I stiffled a chuckled, "Yeah, they did. You better get down here." He finished and hung up then Pym came running out of the lab.

"Excuse me! Out of the way!" He yelled running down the hall

"Smooth." I told him and slipped into the lab looking around then found the particle test tubes grabbing three of them. I walked to the door and gave a slight knock letting him know I was coming out then we headed down the hall but saw the lady from the elevator walking our way with two guards.

"And you've never seen these two men and the woman before?" A guard asked her

"No, I've got an eye for this. The three of them looked fishy."

"Can you describe them?" He asked

"Well, one of them had a hippie beard."

"Hippie? Like Bee Gees or Mungo Jerry?" The guard asked and I nudged Steve indicating to the door next to us and we slid into the room

"That was close," I pointed out, "I think we should be okay to..." I started to say then saw Steve walking to the desk in the room then picked up something as I walked over,

"What is it?" I asked and saw it was a picture of him but he looked different, "That's you." I point out and he turned to look at the door we came in as did I and saw that it read Margaret Carter. We heard talking come from the room next to us and saw a woman walk in talking to..."Dad?" I asked seeing my father standing there talking to a woman that Steve was looking at, "Dad." I said again and moved forward almost going into the room but Steve stopped me.

"No, you can't. Remember what we talked about, we can't interact with people from our past."

"But.." I started to say

"Carrie. I know it's hard," He says and looked at the woman, "But we can't." He tells me and tears formed in my eyes as I looked back at my father, "Besides, around this time you were with HYDRA right? They will have this place swarmed if they see you. We won't get out." Damn I hate when he's right.

"I messed up so bad. We fought when I told him about them, I was so dumb and thought they wanted to do good. He told me that if I went with them, then he doesn't have a daughter anymore. Now look what happened, here's my father working for the good guys while I'm in a stupid stasis chamber waiting to get taken out again. I wish I could just tell him he was right, tell him I'm sorry." I said still looking at my dad and Steve puts his hand on my shoulder.

"I know, trust me. That's the love of my life right there but I can't talk to her cause I'm in the ice. It's just a burden we have. Besides, think of it this way, as twisted as it is if you hadn't went to HYDRA, you wouldn't have met Bucky." He told me and I looked at him. He had a point, "Come on, we should go." He says as we both give one more look to the people we love then left the room.

* * *

"Did we get them all?" Banner asked as we all jump back through the portal

"You telling me this'll actually work?" Rhodey asked and I noticed someone was missing

"Clint, where's Nat?" I asked him and he stayed quiet but fell to his knees, "No." I whispered as tears formed in my eyes.

* * *

"Do we know if she had family?" Stark asked as we stood outside on the dock next to the lake

"Yeah. Us." Rodgers says

"What?" Thor asked

"I just asked him a question–" 

"Yeah, you're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right? So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together." Thor tells us but he's wrong, even I knew that.

"We can't get her back." Clint pointed out

"Wha– what?" Thor asked him

"It can't be undone. It can't."

"I'm sorry. No offense, but you're a very earthly being. Okay? We're talking about space magic. And "can't" seems very definitive don't you think?" Thor says

"Yeah, look, I know that I'm way outside my pay grade here. But she still isn't here, is she?"

"No, that's my point–" Thor began to say

"It can't– be undone. Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him!" Clint yelled and I put my hand on his shoulder, "It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it." He says and I tried to comfort him as Banner grabbed a bench and chucked it across the lake.

"She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to." He tells us

"We will." Steve says

* * *

"All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asked us as we looked at the glove

"I'll do it." Thor said

"Excuse me?" Lang asked him

"It's okay."

"No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey–" Stark tells him as he tried to hold him back

"Wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet." Steve says

"I'm sorry. What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asked

"We should at least discuss it." Lang mentioned

"No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

"It's not about that–" Stark began to say

"It's not that– Stop it! Just let me! Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right."

"Look– It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition." Stark told him

"What do you– What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"

"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey asked and I shot him a glare

"Lightning." Thor said

"Yeah."

"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me." Banner mentioned and Thor lets go of Stark, "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" I asked him

"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like...uh...I was made for this."

* * *

"Good to go, yeah?" Stark asked Banner

"Let's do it."

"You remember– everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years." Stark told him and my heart was racing. I was nervous for Banner but really hoping this worked so that Bucky would be back again.

"Got it." Banner says and everyone suits up for protection, I stand by Stark and Clint as Stark raised up a shield from his suit 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol. Will you?" He asked

"Yes, boss." The robot replied and the facility goes into lock-down

"Everybody comes home." Banner says and puts on the gauntlet, which nanobotically expands to fit his hand, and the power surge overwhelms him as he grunts in pain

"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor yelled

"No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?" Steve asked

"Talk to me, Banner." Stark told him

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Banner screams, fighting through the intense pain and manages to snap his fingers. He faints and the gauntlet slides off his arm then Clint kicks it away

"Bruce!" Steve yelled rushing over to him

"Don't move him." Stark said as he cooled down Banner's arms

"Did it work?" Banner asked

"We're not sure. It's okay." Thor told him and I hear a phone vibrating and looked down to see it was Clint's phone.

"Clint" I said and he looked at me then I held his phone to him, he smiles through happy tears and take it then answers

"Honey. Honey." He says and I smiled at him with my own tears. Just then a missile gets shot through the building causing me and him to fall through a hole as the rest of the building blew up.


	4. The Final Battle chapter 4

**The Final Battle**

"Ow." I groaned and looked around, "Clint? Clint?" 

"I'm here. Are you okay?" 

"I'm gonna have a headache later but I think I'm good. Are you okay?" I asked him

"I think so." He says and shines a light upward, "Cap?" He asked and I see something on the ground.

"Clint." I said and held up the glove then we hear a silent growl, "Please tell me that was your stomach." I mentioned and we stood up then he aimed his bow around shooting an arrow down the tunnel and we saw those alien dog creatures, "Oh not these guys again.

"Run." Clint told me and we ran down the other tunnel as they chased us.

* * *

Me and Clint run into an underground room then I turned pulling a grenade off my belt, "Time to close the door." I said and threw it down the hall then it exploded and we landed on the ground catching our breath. 

"Oh, hey– I know you." I heard Clint say and I saw Nebula standing there then took the glove from him

"Father. I have the stones." She says and I look her confused

"What?!" I asked

"Stop." Someone said and I saw a green woman walk in that Nebula told me was her sister Gamora

"You're betraying us?" Nebula asked her

"You don't have to do this." Someone else said as me and Clint got up and moved away then I saw...another Nebula?

"I am– this." The...I'm gonna say past Nebula says

"No, you're not." Gamora told her

"You've seen what we become." Our Nebula said

"Nebula, listen to her." Gamora begged

"You can change." Our Nebula tells her

"He won't let me." Past Nebula points a gun at Gamora

"No!" Gamora yelled but our Nebula shoots past Nebula and she dies. Clint picks up the glove.

* * *

"Hey, Cap, you read me?" I heard someone say over my radio

"Wait. Wait, stop." I told Clint as we made our way up top

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?" I heard him say and I looked at Clint, "On your left."

"We gotta get up there." I pointed out and we ran towards a light we saw. 

As we got out we saw....everyone. All the people we lost and then some, I frantically tried looking around for Bucky but there were to many people, "Come on." Clint told me and we made our way over to everyone then there was a loud crash and Lang busted out of the ground with Rocket, Banner, and Rhodey.

"Avengers!" I heard Steve yell then saw a hammer fly into his hand, "Assemble." He says and we all take off towards Thanos and his army then started fighting them.  
I pulled out my spear fighting of creatures when I get knocked to the ground by one and tried desperately to get a hold of my knife when I heard a couple gunshots. The creature fell down dead and I rolled it off of me then looked up, I saw Bucky standing there. My heart and body leapt as I got off the ground grabbing my spear and ran to him. I dropped my weapon and we wrapped each other up in our arms

"Thank god." I said through tears and looked at him, "It worked."

"I'm back doll." Was all he said and I kissed him. He was back, the man I love was back, "Let's kick some ass." He told me and I smiled grabbing my spear again and started fighting and shooting as Bucky shot his gun next to me.

Just then the ship above us started firing down and the ground blew up next to me and Bucky causing us to fall down then he rolled over and covered me. Suddenly it stopped and we looked up seeing a bright stream of light shoot down from the sky going right through the ship then came back up, it was Carol. 

"Nice." I said as Bucky helped me up

"Who is that?" He asked me

"I'll explain later."

"Carrie." I heard someone say and I turned seeing Shuri standing there, I ran over and hugged her, "Come on, they need our help." She tells me and I looked at Bucky.

"Go ahead, I'll be okay." He tells me and I smiled at him then followed Shuri to where Carol was holding the glove. 

"I don't know how you're gonna get it through all that." I heard Spider-Man say to her as we got closer

"Don't worry." Wanda says and Okoye jumped down joining all of us

"She's got help." Okoye adds and I ready my spear as we walk forward then fought off the army as Carol flew towards the van.

Next thing I know there was a loud boom and all of Thano's army started to turn into dust. I looked at Shuri confused then walked over to where everyone else was seeing Stark leaning against some debris, "Mr. Stark?" Spider-Man asked and I moved over to Bucky, "Hey– Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter. Hey. We won, Mr. Stark– We won, Mr. Stark. We won. You did it, sir. You did it." He says but Stark stayed quiet, "I'm sorry– Tony–" Spider-Man told him and I heard his voice crack as I put my hand over my mouth.

"No" I whispered and Bucky grabbed my other hand as tears stung my eyes. Stark's wife moves Spider-Man away and knelt next to him

"Hey." She said and Stark is barely able to move his head, but manages to look Pepper in the eyes, "F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"

"Life functions critical."

"Tony. Look at me. We're gonna be okay. You can rest now." She told him and I closed my eyes as Bucky pulled me to him. When I looked up I saw Clint went down on his knee then everyone else followed, I looked at Bucky and we did the same thing, honoring the man who sacrificed himself to save us.


	5. The Final Battle chapter 5

**The Final Battle**   
**A/N: I know this is going to be a short one and I apologize, but hopefully when Falcon and the Winter Soldier show comes out I can continue this as best as I can. Thank you to all who have enjoyed the story so far :)**

We all stood outside as Pepper came out holding her daughters hand carrying a wreath as Bucky stood next to me holding my hand. She lays the wreath on the lake. On top of the wreath is Tony's first arc reactor that said "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart" on it. We stand in silence while watching the wreath float away, I may not have been close to Stark but this man saved us all and I will always be grateful.

* * *

"Now, remember– You have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities." Banner informed Steve as we stood next to the quantum portal

"Don't worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches."

"You know, I tried. When I had the gauntlet, the stones, I really tried to bring her back." He says and I looked down feeling Bucky wrap him arm around me, "I miss them, man."

"Me, too."

"You know, if you want, I can come with you." Sam told him

"You're a good man, Sam. This one's on me, though." He says and walked over to me and Bucky, "Don't do anything stupid 'till I get back." Steve tells him and Bucky gave a light chuckle

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." Bucky said and they hugged each other, "Gonna miss you, Buddy." He mentioned and I looked at Steve then I knew the look in his eyes

"It's gonna be okay, Buck." He tells him and glanced at me, "You have Carrie." He says, me and Bucky smiled at each other and I hugged Steve

"If you happen to see my dad can you...tell him I'm sorry, or something." 

"I will." He said then goes over to the Quantum portal and the Quantum suit appears on him then I grabbed Bucky's hand

"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked

"For him? As long as he needs. For us? Five seconds." Banner pointed out and Steve picked up Thor's hammer from the past, "Ready, Cap? Alright. We'll meet you back here, okay?"

"You bet."

"Going quantum. Three, two, one–" Banner says and Steve disappears into the portal, "And returning in, five, four, three, two, one–" He said but Steve doesn't appear on the pad and Banner looks around the equipment

"Where is he?" Sam asked

"I don't know. He blew right by his time stamp. He should be here." Banner mentioned and Bucky turned away as I watched Banner and Sam freak out

"Well, get him back."

"I'm trying." Banner tells him

"Get him the hell back!"

"Hey, I said, I'm trying!" Banner told him again

"Sam." I heard Bucky say and I turned to face him then walked over seeing what he was looking at, there was an old man sitting on the bench, I knew it had to be Steve. Sam walks toward Bucky seeing the man too, "Go ahead." Bucky tells him and Sam walked over to the man.

"You know I was thinking." I said and faced Bucky, "We have two more shots at this thing. Maybe if we convinced Banner, we could go back too. Live out our lives in the past we got pulled from." I tell him and he turned to me taking my hand.

"You'd do that?" He asked me and I smiled

"I would do anything for you Bucky, I'd even go any where with you." I said and he kissed me.

"So would I. That's why I think we'll stay here, start a new life. Like you said years ago, the past is in the past, all we can do now is change our future." He tells me and I kiss him again then Sam walked over holding Steve's shield.

"Looks good." I said and he smiled

"Carries a lot of weight though."

"I bet." I point out 

"He also told me to give you this." Sam says and hands me a letter, from my dad. I looked at him and he nodded.

"Can...can I have a minute?" I asked them both and they nodded then walked away as I sat down on a bench opening up the letter.

 _My dear Carrie,_  
 _I'm told by your friend Steve that if I write this he will give it to you. He tried to explain this the best he could to me, time travel, who would have thought. He mentioned that you are in the year 2019, explained what HYDRA has done to you, and he has told me that you are sorry. Sweetie, I want you to know, that I forgive you."_ I read and a tear fell out of my eye _, "We all make mistakes, trust me I have made a few, but none of that matters now. You are safe, you helped save the world, and from what Steve has told me, you met someone as well, his friend Bucky. He gave me the shortened story of that and even though it didn't start out well in the beginning he told me that his friend is better now, because of you._  
 _Hunny, I am so proud of you, you struggled so much with what you went through but you came out a hero, and I could not be happier. I wish I could see you again and meet this man of yours but time separates us. Just know that you will always be my sweet girl, and that I love you. Take care of yourself sweetie and remember, Don't let anyone tell you who you're supposed to be, you are who you choose to be. And I know you're gonna be okay. You are gonna be amazing because you're my daughter._  
 _I love you Bunny._

_Love forever,_   
_Dad._

I finished reading and wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled, "I love you too Dad." I whispered to myself then walked over to Bucky and Sam

"You okay?" Bucky asked me and I nodded, but he stilled pulled me into a hug.

"I love you." I tell him and he kissed the top of my head

"I love you too."

"So what now you two?" Sam asked and we looked at him.

"I guess we'll have to see." I mentioned and we all looked at each other. I may not know what the future has in store for us, but as long as I had Bucky, hell even Sam, I know that it'll all be okay.


	6. The Final Battle chapter 6

**The Final Battle**  
**A/N: Okay I lied, I'm sorry don't shoot me. I though I was going to leave it there but I decided that they needed to have their moments after everything that happened. Then after this I promise I'm done.**

"Well this is it." Sam told us as we walked into his place, since the old headquarters blew up I really didn't have anywhere to stay, neither did Bucky, so Sam offered us to stay with him.

"Thank you Sam. I promise we won't be here to long." I told him as Bucky walked around looking at the place.

"Hey, it's no problem at all alright? You stay as long as you need to." He says and I gave him a smile, "Come on I'll show you guys your room." He said and I walked over to Bucky taking his hand.

"You okay?" I asked him and he looked at me

"Trying to be. Just trying to process everything, I was...dead for five years, I can't even imagine what you went through during that time, and now Steve's gone. It's just.."

"I know, but we'll get through it. Once we have a moment to breather we can do what we can to move past all this. The important thing is that you're here now, we're here now, that's all I could ever want." I tell him and he smiled at me putting his hand on my face then I covered it with my own

"I'm not going anywhere again doll. I promise." 

"I'm holding you to that." I said and kissed him. It felt so great having him here again, it felt like the last 5 years was a bad dream

"Hey," Sam says and we break apart, "You two wanna look at your room or what?" He asked and I chuckled

"Sorry Sam."

"Eh it's alright I get it. Come on." He tells us and we follow him to the bedroom, "It's not much."

"It's okay, it'll work." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'll go get our stuff, or at least what we have." Bucky mentioned and I gave him a smile as he walked out

"You know I never thanked you." Sam tells me 

"For what?" 

"For what you did, what you all did to bring us back. I know it wasn't easy, but you did, so thank you." He says and I smiled at him

"You're welcome." I said and gave him a hug, "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back."

"Trying to steal my girl?" We heard Bucky ask from behind Sam and we both laughed.

"Well I was just giving her options in case she got sick of you."   
I smacked his arm and he laughed, "Fat chance." 

"Ah damn, I guess I struck out." Sam says sarcastically and we all laugh, "I'll let you two get settled. Holler if you need anything." He tells us and left.

"Home sweet home." I said and Bucky smiled pulling me into his arms.

* * *

"Okay, I got you a cell phone." I told Bucky sitting at the table while Sam made breakfast and I see Bucky's confused face, "It's a form of communication, here." I scooted closer to him and went through all the workings of it, I figured I'd start him off easy and got him a flip phone, "I have my number set as number one so it's quicker then Sam's is number 2."

"Wow, that hurts." Sam says from the kitchen

"Are you his girlfriend?" I asked with a smile

"Well no but I can fly."

"And I'm a genetically enhanced human." I point out

"Touche." He said and I chuckled.

"Guys, I appreciate this but I think I can manage the real world, I did it before." Bucky tells us and I smiled at him.

"I know you can, I just wanna make sure my soldier stays safe." I mention and he kiss me

"I will be, I have you." He says and I kissed him again

"Okay move it hot pan pan coming through." Sam said and I moved away from Bucky as Sam dished up our plates

"I still feel bad that you wouldn't let me cook for you." I tell him

"No offense but can you even cook?"

"Well I am offended Sam," I said with a laugh, "I'll have you know that in the past 5 years Steve and Na..." I started to say but stopped as the pain hit me, Bucky grabbed my hand and I gave him a sad smile, "I'm okay. Let's eat." I tell them and picked up my fork digging in.

* * *

"I miss you Nat. Every day." I said sitting on the ground in front of her headstone we set up for her, "You did your best to pull me out of my sadness after losing Bucky, and now that I lost you he's here to help me get out of it, how's that for irony?" I said with a small laugh, "I may not have known you for the years that the others have but getting to know you over that dark time, meant everything to me. As you know I didn't have any siblings, so you.." I stopped and swallowed the lump in my throat, "You became the sister I always wished that I would have. Thank you, for everything." I finished and wiped the tears away then got up. I put my hand on the headstone then walked away. I felt my phone vibrate and I pulled it out seeing a message from Bucky.

 _Did this text send? Please tell me you got this. I'm still getting used to this. Sam is helping me._ It read and I chuckled, this was going to take a lot of work.

 _Yes, I got it. Nice job :)_ I replied back and got into my car as my phone went off again

 _What are you up doing? Still at the cemetery?_ He asked

 _Just about to leave and head to the store, I managed to hold onto my old credit cards from when I went into hiding so I figured I'd get us more then just a backpack full of clothes lol_ I sent and pulled out of the cemetery then my phone buzzed

 _What's lol?_ He asked and I started laughing

_It means laugh out loud, sorry I forgot you're not up to date on the slang old man ;)_

_Be careful who you called old man, old lady ;)_ He sent back

_Touche Mr. Barnes lol_

_Drive careful doll, I plan on keeping you_ He says and I smiled

_Aren't you sweet. I'll see you guys in an a half hour._

_Well you'll see me. Sam agreed to let us have the place to ourselves tonight. I have a special date planned for us._ He said and I raised an eyebrow

_Special date huh? I'm interested :)_

_See you when you get back doll. I love you._

_I love you too_ I sent back and continued driving, "Well crap now I need a different outfit." I tell myself.

* * *

After I got back to Sam's I knocked on the outside door, after a moment it opened a crack and Bucky was standing there, "I didn't think you'd be back so fast."

"Oh I'm sorry, should I drive around some more to give the other woman a chance to run before I catch her?" I asked with a smile which he returned

"There's only one woman I want." He said leaning out giving me a kiss, "Could you..close your eyes? I'll help you to the room I just want it to be a surprise."

"Of course." I tell him and closed my eyes feeling him grab my bags then I moved my hand to my eyes feeling his hand on my waist guiding me to the room then I heard the door shut.

"Okay." He says and I opened my eyes as he set the bags down, "I'm sorry I just.."

"Don't be sorry, I get it." I told him and he kissed me again.

"You get ready, I'm almost down then I'll get ready as well." 

"Deal." I said and he kissed my forehead then snuck out of the room closing the door as I smiled then grabbed the bag with my dress an began to get ready. Now, I'm not a girly girl, never have been. I despise dresses and skirts but Bucky planned this night out so I'm doing this for him. 

After a few moments there was a knock at the bedroom door and I opened it seeing Bucky standing there. Bucky damn near looked like he walked out of a magazine. He wore a dark blue button down shirt that fit over his metal arm, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and he was wearing a pair of black dress pants that the shirt tucked into.  
I wore a blue dress that fell just above my knees. I pinned one side of my hair draping it over my right shoulder, "Wow, I, uh...you look beautiful."

"Thank you," I said, "You look handsome."

"Thanks doll." He says and took my hand leading me into the kitchen. I was astounded by the set up. The table had two glasses, an open bottle of wine, two candles and two plates with food on them. I looked around more and saw a record player sitting on the counter.

"Is that a record player?" I asked walking over to it, "I haven't seen one of these since 1935." I pointed out lightly running my fingers on it, "Where did you find it?" I asked him as he walked over.

"Some place called an antique store that Sam helped me find." He pointed out and adjusted the needle. A few crackles and pops were heard, and then an old jazz song began to play. 

"I know this song." I mentioned with a smile as the memories came back. Bucky put his hands on my waist and I looked at him, "You sure know how to make a girl swoon Mr. Barnes." I tell him and he kissed me.

"Let's eat." He said and I let him lead me over to the table where he pulled out my chair for me. After I sat down he did the same and we ate, talked and laughed.

* * *

"Would you like some more wine?" He asked me and I shook my head

"Any more and you'll have to carry me to the bedroom." I joked and he smirked, "Well you don't need wine to do that." I pointed out and he chuckled.

"I have something else to show you" Bucky tells me. "Do you want to see?"

"Of course." I said and he reached into his pocket pulling out a necklace, "What's that?" I asked and he handed it to me making me look down in shock, "Your dog tags? how did you get these?" I asked looking at them.

"Sam sort of distracted the guard at the museum as I snuck in and grabbed them." 

"You little thief." I said with a smile

"I'm gonna put them back but I figured I'd try to look at something from my past you know?" 

I grabbed his hand and smiled at him, "I do. HYDRA unfortunately destroyed mine." I pointed out and he gave my hand a light squeeze then I handed the tags back to him,

"Thank you, for showing me a part of your past" I said.

"You're welcome. I love you Carrie, I want you to know who I was before all that bad stuff happened, the old Bucky."

"Over time I will. Just like I want you to know who I was before HYDRA.

"Baby steps." He says and I smiled

"Baby steps." I tell him and a new song began to play, "This song." I said and looked at the record player.

"Do you know it?" He asked me 

"My father told me this song played at his and my mom's wedding." I closed my eyes taking it in then I heard Bucky stand up and I opened my eyes to see him in front of me holding out his hand

"May I have this dance?" H asked and I smiled then took his hand standing up and he put his metal arm around my waist holding my other hand with his. We didn't say anything, just danced, I looked into his amazing blue eyes and suddenly I didn't feel like we were in 2019, it felt like we were back in 1935 again. I leaned my head on his shoulder with my face towards the crook of his neck and closed my eyes, "Do you know how long it's been since I've danced with a girl?" 

"Probably about the same as it has for me with a guy." I mentioned and he chuckled.

"It still feels so weird. Bits and pieces keep coming back, my parents, school, younger Steve, and I'll admit some girls."

"Oh really?" I asked looking up at him

"Yes, but only one girl matters now, my girl." 

"Nice save." I told him and he kissed him, "I'm happy though, that it's all coming back. Hopefully it can push the bad stuff down."

"It will, and I can't thank you enough for helping me."

"Like I said, I'd do anything for you." I said and he smiled at me as the song ended. Bucky slipped a hand behind my neck and pressed his lips to mine. The metal hand, rested just below my ear and his thumb caressed my cheek. I put my hands on his sides returning the kiss. We just fit so perfect together, our lips, our bodies, everything.  
As our breaths mingled, the heat of our embrace grew with each passing second. Before I knew it, Bucky was lifting me into his arms causing me to wrap my legs around his waist, my arms wrapped around his neck as he led them back to the bedroom. Our mouths never parted, not until Bucky laid me gently down onto the bed. He climbed over me,

"I love you Carrie." 

"I love you too Bucky." I tell him and pulled him the rest of the way onto the bed into a kiss. His hungry tongue found mine and I let out a moan causing him to grip his fingers in my hair. I began to unbutton his shirt, peeling it back from his chest as my mouth moved downwards, kissing his muscles one by one.

Every inch of his body was evidence of the kind of fighter he was, strong, but his eyes told a different story. They always would, especially when he looked at me. I bit my lip as Bucky's mouth trailed down to my collarbone, then to the space between my breasts then he paused, his eyes meeting mine, "Remember on Wakanda when I said if I had both arms it would have really been something?" He asked and I nodded, "Well now that I do." He says and lifted me up slightly then unzipped the back of my dress, "This is gonna have to go."

"As you wish sir." I tell him and he slid the hem of my dress upwards, his mouth dragging lazily along my skin sending chills though my body. I gave him a throaty moan of approval.

"Seems I'm not the only one enjoying this." He says in my ear when I feel his hand run along the inside of my thigh and I take in a sharp breath.

I began working on his pants which came off in no time while he took off my underwear then we looked at each other as he laid on top of me, "What are you waiting for, soldier?" I asked him biting my lip then cupped my hands behind his neck, pulling him closer kissing me. 

As our mouths joined, and so did our bodies, he pushed into me slowly drawing a gasp from me. He went slow, waited until I nodded for him to increase his speed, it's been 5 years okay? Give me a break. Bucky closed his eye his own eyes as our bodies moved together in a perfect rhythm.  
My hands slid down his back, marveling at this strength. Bucky responded by gripping my waist and pushing himself deeper inside me. The intensity of his metal grip sent shock waves through my body. I wanted more, I arched my back, meeting him stroke for stroke. Gentle, rolling thrusts turned harder as our breathing increased. Bucky gripped at my thigh, lifting my leg to get that extra inch of himself deep inside me. I moaned his name, pleading for more, and he delivered every inch.  
Bucky rested his forehead against mine and our eyes met as our bodies rocked together. With his hands braced on either side of my head, he clenched the fist of his metal arm, gritting his teeth, "God Carrie." He moaned and it turned me on more.

Bucky closed his eyes and I heard him lock the plating of his metal arm, I knew it was because he didn't want to hurt me, which honestly he couldn't. He reached up and gripped headboard of the bed, I heard wood crack as he gripped it, so I decided to have fun with it, I moved my mouth to his neck lightly biting it as I tightened my legs around him and he groaned and I ground my hips against his. He pushed harder into me as he eyes stayed squeezed shut then I brought my lips to his ear nibbling it then almost screamed in pleasure as he pounded into me harder and I arched my back, "Bucky!" I moaned and his metal hand completely snapped the bed frame as he groaned, I felt him twitch inside me as he finished and I dug my nails in his back.

As our bodies slowed and we tried to control our breathing, I looked up into Bucky's eyes, "Wow." was all he said and I giggled

"Wow indeed." I said and he kissed me then laid down next to me then I looked at the bed frame, "Whoops." I chuckled and he looked at it as well.

"I guess I got a little carried away."

"I'll replace it for Sam." I mentioned then snuggled up to him as he laughed.

"That was..."

"Yeah." I sighed with a smile and he kissed the top of my head.

"I wish we could have met before I went to war, I wouldn't have joined then."

"How so sir?" I asked turning my head to rest my chin on his chest

"Because I wouldn't have wanted to leave my amazing girl behind." 

"Why Mr. Barnes are you being sweet on me?" I asked batting my eyelashes and he chuckled.

"Always." He says and I kissed him

"I do too though. Maybe things would have been different, but I was in Massachusetts and you were in New York, odds of us meeting were slim."

"You lived in Massachusetts?" He asked

"I did. Born and raised. Well until I joined the Army." 

"Would...would you tell me about that? About your past?" He asked me and I smiled.

"Of course." I said and laid my head back on his chest telling him about my past. That's how we spent our night until we got tired, just laid there and talked about our lives before, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

**A/N: Okay, now I'm done I promise. I should also mention that I will be setting up Pinterest boards for all three stories. you can find them under hilaryh21 (Even though I'm 29. I need to change that) I hope you enjoyed the stories :)**


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